Butler at Xavier: 2017-18 college basketball preview, TV, prediction
After upsetting Villanova in their last game, the Butler Bulldogs will be facing their second top-10 team in as many games. Can they upend Xavier?
Matchup: Butler Bulldogs (12-3, 2-0) at Xavier Musketeers (14-1, 2-0)
Tip-time: 7:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 2, 2018
TV schedule: Fox Sports 1
Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH.
Butler Bulldogs Basketball
Butler is riding some tremendous momentum right now. After opening Big East play with a monumental second-half comeback and double-overtime road win over Georgetown, the Bulldogs returned home and upset the undefeated Villanova Wildcats. Given this, Butler has shown that they have the ability to win on the road, deal with adversity, and knock off tough teams.
The experience that the team has gained under new head coach LaVall Jordan both in conference play and non-conference will be extremely valuable moving forward. Now in his final season with the program, Kelan Martin has emerged as a tremendous leader for Butler. He is averaging team-highs of 18.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the year so far while shooting 86.0% from the free throw line. In addition, he has been great in Butler’s first two conference games, scoring 25.5 points per game on 53.1% shooting.
Both Kamar Baldwin and Paul Jorgensen are also showing the ability to electric scorers. In Butler’s win over Georgetown, it was Baldwin who stepped up and delivered 31 points. The sophomore guard is averaging 14.5 points per game. Then, Jorgensen contributed 23 points in the Bulldogs’ upset of Villanova. He is third on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
In the Bulldogs’ first game of 2018, they will be taking on one of their conference rivals in the Xavier Musketeers. Xavier is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation and will prove to be an incredibly difficult test for Butler.
Xavier Musketeers Basketball
Xavier is led by one of the frontrunners to win Big East Player of the Year. Trevon Bluiett is a top-notch scorer and is nearly impossible to guard. Bluiett has an array of moves and can beat you both from inside and out. For the season, the senior is dropping in 19.7 points per game. Although he is averaging 19.5 points in his first two conference games this year, Bluiett is just 10-for-29 (34.5%) from the field.
Bluiett is not alone as a leader for head coach Chris Mack, though. One of the most polarizing players in all of college basketball, senior JP Macura is a versatile player for Xavier. Macura is one of the best defenders for the Musketeers and posts 12.9 points per game. He is a reliable scorer from every level and will feed off of any crowd, whether at home or on the road. Macura is one of those players that you either love to have on your team or hate to play against.
To me, the first 10 minutes of this game are going to be extremely important. Both Butler and Xavier have shown that they are susceptible to slow starts and whoever is able to get ahead early will have a major advantage moving forward. However, both of these teams have also made tremendous comebacks this season so absolutely no lead is safe.
In a game that has the potential for a close finish, another storyline to look at is the foul shooting of these two teams. Butler (74.7%, 47th in the nation) and Xavier (80.3%, 2nd in the nation) are both extremely efficient free throw shooting teams and whoever holds the lead heading into the final minute will be in good shape.
Next: Bracketology projected field entering 2018
With this being said, Xavier will have the benefit of the home crowd in this one. The Musketeers have won 10 consecutive home games this season and they are certainly hard to beat at the Cintas Center. As far as matchup trends go, Butler swept Xavier during the regular season last year before falling in the Big East Tournament.
Final prediction: Xavier Musketeers 79, Butler Bulldogs 74
Reminder: Butler defeated Villanova in the last game that I picked against them.